The São Francisco Xavier Cemetery is the largest of the many :pt:Necrópole|necropolises that make up the group popularly known as the Caju Cemetery, located in the Caju neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro's North Zone. It is the largest cemetery in the :pt:Estado do Rio de Janeiro|state of Rio de Janeiro, covering 441,000 m², and one of the largest in :pt:Brasil|Brazil. The other cemeteries that make up the group of necropolises are the :pt:Cemitério_da_Ordem_Terceira_do_Carmo_|Cemetery of the Third Order of Carmel, the Cemetery of the Venerable Third Order of St. Francis of Penance and the Jewish Communal Cemetery of Caju. It was officially founded on 18 October 1851, in the same place where a slave cemetery had existed since 1839, and has been administered by the Concessionária Reviver since 2015, after more than 150 years of administration by the :pt:Santa Casa de Misericórdia|Santa Casa de Misericórdia .
History
The cemetery originally was located near São Cristóvão beach, replaced due to several :pt:Aterramento_marítimo|landfills. It was the former Campo da Misericórdia, used since 1839 when, on July 2, the body of Victoria, a creole, daughter of Thereza, slave of Manoel Rodrigues dos Santos was interred. It was used for the burial of slaves until 1851, when, by decree No. 842 of October 16 of the same year, the public cemeteries of :pt:Cemitério_de_São_Francisco_Xavier|São Francisco Xavier and Saint John the Baptist were founded. For the transformation into a public cemetery, several neighboring properties were acquired and, thus, the surface area was greatly increased. On November 8, 1851, the Holy House Provider :pt:José Clemente Pereira|José Clemente Pereira reported that the São Francisco Xavier Cemetery was in a state to be able to provide services within the 15 days of Regulation No. 796. Indeed, on December 5, the burial took place of a "free African woman No. 187, from Manguinhos, belonging to the House of Correction, deceased at the Misericordia Hospital, of gastroenterocolitis" . The last body buried in the Campo Santo da Misericórdia, in 1851, was from a "free African man, sent from the House of Correction, No.50, burial No. 2,218" . It has taken several landfills and flattening the land over the years to make the whole area flat and dry as it is swampy due to the proximity of Guanabara Bay. For the landfills, a hill that existed in the northern part of the necropolis was thinned.
Features
The cemetery is bordered by a high masonry wall, and in the central part of this wall is a monumental iron railing, on a granite base, with iron gates at either end. In the middle of this railing, is the building used as a :pt:Vestíbulo|vestibule of the necropolis, consisting of two :pt:Pavilhão|pavilions with granite façades flanking the imposing portico. This construction was originally planned by the engineer :pt:José Maria Jacinto Rebelo|José Maria Jacinto Rebelo; It was, however, executed with modifications that gave it greater grandeur by the architect :pt:Francisco Joaquim Béthencourt da Silva|Francisco Joaquim Béthencourt da Silva. The main entrance to the cemetery is in R. Monsenhor Manuel Gomes, a North-South thoroughfare through São Cristóvão. The cemetery originally provided temporary graves for a period of seven years and, according to the wishes of the families, also sold perpetual graves, which is why there have been rich and imposing :pt:capela|chapels built throughout its history. Within the cemetery grounds, at its southeast end, there is also the Quadra dos Acatólicos , reserved for the burial of :pt:Judaísmo|Jews and :pt:Protestantismo|Protestants. It was used prior to the construction of the neighboring :pt:Cemitério Comunal Israelita do Rio de Janeiro|Jewish Communal Cemetery of Rio de Janeiro. Filled with ancient and historical graves, it has been the subject of several studies, books and theses. Another area of 1,885 square meters, surrounded by railings, with French ceramic tiled floors, is the Cemitério de São Pedro , reserved for catholics of the order of the same name. It was acquired in 1866 by the Venerável Irmandade do Príncipe Apóstolos São Pedro , as a product of the :pt:Legado_|bequest of Father José Luís de Oliveira. Originally, most of the burials belonged to residents of the :pt:Zona_Norte_| northern region of the city and, because it is next to :pt:São_Cristóvão_|São Cristóvão neighborhood, many personalities of the empire were buried there throughout the middle of the nineteenth century. But, curiously, the first person of recognized nobility buried there was a French citizen, Viscount Villiers de l'Isle d'Adam, deceased at the :pt:Morro do Livramento|Morro do Livramento Nursing Home on 10 July 1852 at the age of 65. Among the most notable chapels and graves are those of the architect Antonio Jannuzzi; the Baron of Mangaratiba; the :pt:visconde do Rio Branco|visconde do Rio Branco; Santa Casa's benefactor, Luísa Rosa Avondano Pereira; the magistrate and politician :pt:José Clemente Pereira|José Clemente Pereira, an active participant in the Masonic Order; and :pt:Benjamin_de_Oliveira|Benjamin de Oliveira Brazil's first black clown, who died on 3 May 1954. One of the most curious tombs is the so-called "Mausoléu dos Mártires Integralistas", which houses the remains of the militants killed during the :pt:Levante Integralista|Integralist Uprising of 11 May 1938 The doctor and memoirist :pt:Pedro_Nava|Pedro Nava who is buried in the cemetery, wrote in his book :pt:Balão_Cativo|Balão Cativo , one of the most beautiful and sentimental descriptions of the Caju cemetery and its graves. The impression of his first visit there as a boy was that "Transpondo seu pórtico de pedra eu tive a percepção invasora de um impacto silencioso e formidando" .
